Wisconsin, Usa
Cascade Mountain
47 runs, 175 acres near Madison, Wisconsin. Eleven lifts, night skiing, Walz family-owned since 1977.
Season 2025 - 2026
Opens
6 Dec 2025
Closes
13 Apr 2026
Days open
128
Annual snow
4ft
The Overview
Michael Fulton
Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.
Cascade Mountain's summit reaches 1,280 feet, dropping roughly 460 vertical feet to a base at 820 feet across 47 runs spread over 175 acres near Portage, Wisconsin. Terrain splits 40 per cent intermediate, 38 per cent beginner, 21 per cent advanced and 1 per cent expert. Average annual snowfall is low at roughly 50 inches, meaning the resort depends heavily on snowmaking. Cascade Mountain carries no major multi-resort pass affiliation and remains independently, family-owned.
Eleven lifts, including four quads, two doubles, two triples and three surface lifts, serve the 47-run network, a dense lift count for a Wisconsin hill of this size. Night skiing runs alongside daytime operations, popular with visitors from the Madison area roughly 30 minutes away. A 2016 expansion added eight trails and two chairlifts, growing skiable terrain by roughly 30 per cent. The resort's beginner and intermediate-heavy terrain suits families and learning skiers.
Local developer Dewey Belton opened Cascade Mountain on 13 January 1962 as part of a planned recreational community near Portage. Financial difficulties in 1974 saw control pass briefly to North Carolina National Bank, which oversaw operations into the early 1980s. Phil and Adele Walz bought the ski operation in 1977, beginning continuous family ownership that passed to their children Rob and Vicky Walz in 2006, with a third generation now involved in daily operations. The Walz family's 2016 expansion added eight trails and two chairlifts, growing the resort's terrain by around 30 per cent to its current scale.
With no major pass affiliation, Cascade Mountain sells its own day tickets and season passes directly. Adult full-day tickets range from 65 to 99 US dollars depending on date, with night skiing available separately and a Platinum Season Pass at 599 dollars. The resort suits Madison-area families seeking accessible, learning-focused skiing roughly 30 minutes from the city. Its continuous Walz family ownership since 1977, now spanning three generations, sets it apart from larger corporate Midwest competitors.
459ft
Vertical
47
Runs
175 acres
Skiable
4ft
Annual snow
The Terrain
47 runs across 175 acres skiable
Cascade Mountain spreads 47 runs across 175 acres skiable of terrain. It leans intermediate at 40%, with 18 beginner runs to find your feet and 10 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
Terrain split
47
runs
47 runs across 4 grades
Beginner18 runs · 38%
Intermediate19 runs · 40%
Advanced10 runs · 21%
Expert0 runs · 1%
Time it right
When to visit Cascade Mountain
The 2025-26 season at Cascade Mountain ran from 6 December 2025 to 13 April 2026, a roughly nineteen-week window supported substantially by snowmaking. The resort's low natural snowfall means season length depends heavily on temperatures suitable for artificial snow production. Season dates can shift based on early and late-season weather. This is a comparatively long season given Cascade Mountain's modest natural snowfall totals.
Average annual snowfall of roughly 50 inches is low even by Midwest standards, meaning Cascade Mountain depends on snowmaking for nearly all of its season-long conditions rather than natural accumulation. This makes temperature, far more than storm cycles, the key variable in the resort's operating reliability. Base depth is maintained almost entirely through machine-made snow. Specific snowmaking coverage percentage is not confirmed in available resort information, though it is understood to be extensive given the low natural totals.
Midwinter, from late December through February, typically offers the most reliable conditions once snowmaking has built a consistent base. Night skiing sessions extend the useful hours of each day, particularly popular with Madison-area commuters. Weekend crowds are heavier than weekdays, given the resort's role serving day-trip visitors from Madison and surrounding communities. Late-season visits into April can be inconsistent as temperatures warm and snowmaking becomes less viable.
Cascade Mountain's calendar centres on family and learning-focused programming rather than festival events, consistent with its beginner and intermediate-heavy terrain. The Walz family's continuous ownership since 1977, now into a third generation, has shaped operating priorities toward steady, family-oriented growth rather than destination-style programming. Specific event programming beyond standard operations is not confirmed in available resort information. As a Madison-area day-trip resort, the calendar leans toward reliable, accessible conditions throughout the season.
Season 2025 - 2026
6 Dec 2025
Opens
13 Apr 2026
Closes
128
Days open
4 ft
Annual snow
Getting there
Getting to Cascade Mountain, and where to stay
Cascade Mountain sits near Portage, Wisconsin, with a base elevation of 820 feet and a summit at 1,280 feet across a vertical drop of roughly 460 feet over 175 acres. This is south-central Wisconsin, a region of rolling hills and farmland rather than mountainous terrain. The resort was originally developed as part of a planned recreational community by developer Dewey Belton in the early 1960s. Portage itself is a small city along the Wisconsin River.
Portage is the nearest town of note, with Madison, Wisconsin's capital and second-largest city, roughly 30 minutes away by road and the resort's primary visitor source. The Wisconsin Dells, a well-known tourism destination, sits nearby, adding to the area's broader recreational profile. The region carries a mix of farmland and small-town character alongside its recreational draws. Milwaukee lies further east, a longer drive but still within reasonable day-trip range for some visitors.
Interstate 90/94 and local roads connect Portage and Cascade Mountain to the broader south-central Wisconsin highway network. The drive from Madison takes roughly 30 minutes under normal conditions, a key factor in the resort's popularity as an after-work and weekend destination. Winter driving on Wisconsin highways can include snow and ice, though major routes are generally well-maintained. No direct public transport service reaches the resort itself.
Dane County Regional Airport in Madison is the nearest airport with commercial service, roughly 30 to 40 minutes from the resort by road. Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport offers a larger range of flight options but sits considerably further away. Most visitors reach Cascade Mountain by car directly from the Madison area rather than flying into a specific regional airport. No rail service reaches the resort directly.
Where to stay
Search all stays →Hotels and lodges near Cascade Mountain, powered by Stay22.
Latest News
From the SnowStash desk
Spain Moves to Ban Smoking at Ski Resorts Under New Tobacco Law
Spain's government has approved a draft tobacco law that would ban smoking across a wide range of outdoor spaces, including sports venues - a category Spanish winter sports media expect to cover ski resorts, potentially extending to slopes and lifts themselves. The rules would also apply to e-cigarettes and vaping devices, even nicotine-free ones. The bill still has to clear the Spanish parliament before any ban, signage, or fines can take effect.
22 July 2026
South Tyrol Approves New 16-Person Ciampinoi Gondola in Val Gardena
South Tyrol has approved a full rebuild of the Ciampinoi cable car in Selva di Val Gardena, replacing the current 12-person gondola with a 16-person cabin and a new mountain-station restaurant. Capacity is capped at 3,200 people an hour rather than the 3,600 the operator wanted, and 250,000 euros must go toward compensatory measures. No construction or opening date has been set, though the upgrade is partly aimed at clearing bottlenecks before the 2031 Alpine Ski World Championships.
22 July 2026
Resort Spotlight: Hoshino Tomamu - Corporate Japan's Mountain Playground Revisited
Hoshino Tomamu is the ski resort equivalent of a conference hotel that happens to have excellent powder. Built for corporate retreats and package tourists, it offers genuine Hokkaido snow on surprisingly limited terrain - 29 runs spread across 585 vertical metres.
21 July 2026
La Thuile's New Cable Car Replaces Two Ageing Chairlifts
La Thuile is spending 38.7 million US dollars on a new 10-person cable car linking Les Suches to Chaz Dura, replacing the La Combe and Chaz Dura chairlifts after nearly forty years of service. Built by Leitner, the new cable car runs 1,950 metres to a top station at 2,576 metres, carrying up to 3,000 people an hour with a six-minute ride. It also improves the connection to La Rosiere in France via the Petit-Saint-Bernard Pass, and is on track to open for the 2026/27 season.
21 July 2026
The Remarkables Adds Scarpa Bowl to Its Inbounds Terrain
The Remarkables is adding new inbounds terrain for winter, bringing the Scarpa Bowl - known locally as the Toilet Bowl - into its lift-accessed network after years as backcountry-only ground. The roughly 500 metre run is reached by bootpacking from the top of the Sugar Bowl chairlift, with a shuttle picking skiers up from the road at the bottom. It's a smaller, faster addition than the resort's planned Doolans expansion, though the new terrain hasn't opened yet due to a lack of snow this season.
21 July 2026
Ski Portillo Cut Off After Storm Dumps More Than 4.5 Metres of Snow
Ski Portillo remains isolated after an extended storm buried the Chilean resort under more than 4.5 metres of snow, with both ground and air access suspended since Tuesday while crews monitor avalanche hazards and worsening weather. Resort officials say further snowfall is expected in the coming days and haven't set a timeline for reopening the mountain road. Once access resumes, the scale of the snowpack could set up a strong season at one of the Southern Hemisphere's most historic ski resorts.
21 July 2026
Resort Spotlight: Lotte Arai - Japan's Corporate Ski Anomaly With 22 Metres of Annual Snowfall
Lotte Arai receives 22 metres of annual snowfall - exceptional even by Japanese standards - but its corporate ownership model and limited terrain create an unusual cost-benefit equation. Here's what the numbers actually mean on the ground.
19 July 2026
Resort Spotlight: Banff Sunshine Village - Nine Metres of Snow and a Season That Runs Until May
Banff Sunshine Village sits at 1,660m base and receives 9.27m of snow annually. Inside Banff National Park, it offers a six-month season and terrain split that skews heavily advanced - though the crowds and lift infrastructure tell their own story.
18 July 2026
Current conditions
Snow Report
Updated 16 Aug 2026
1,280ft
summit
+0in
new snow · last 24 hours
Overcast67°F / 82°F · NW 13mph
Snowfall
24 hours
0in
48 hours
0in
7 days
0in
Base depth
0in
Season total
0in
Total lifts11
Live open status isn’t available right now.
6 Dec 2025 - 13 Apr 2026
Hour by Hour
Next 48 hours· Updated Aug 16, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Scroll for the full outlook · Open-Meteo
7-Day Outlook
1,280 ftUpdated Aug 16, 2026 at 5:02 PMOpen-Meteo
Days 1–7
0.0"
Days 8–14
0.0"
Sun, Aug 16
Overcast
Temp82° / 67°°F
Snow0.0"(15%)
Wind13 mph NW
Live snow from the resort feed; forecast from Open-Meteo, via Supabase.
Understanding the Cascade Mountain snow report
Track current conditions at Cascade Mountain in Wisconsin. This report covers snowfall totals, base and summit depth, and the forecast across 47 runs.
Snow measurements
Base depth, summit depth, and recent snowfall are the core numbers to watch. At Cascade Mountain, summit conditions (390m) can differ noticeably from the base, so we break both out separately rather than showing a single average.
Weather conditions
Wind and temperature swings matter as much as fresh snowfall. Cold, calm conditions hold snow quality well, while wind-loading or a warm-up can change things quickly — especially given the elevation spread between Cascade Mountain's base and summit.
Data sources
Snowfall and depth figures for Cascade Mountain come from official mountain sources; weather and outlook data comes from independent forecasting services. The mountain is served by 11 lifts, including 4 quad chairlifts.
When to check
Snow reports are typically updated early morning and late afternoon. For the most current conditions, check back regularly, especially if a winter storm is approaching.